Well as the whole fly fishing world knows by now, Sage is discontinuing the Zed Axis and replacing it with a rod called "The One". It's "lighter, faster, stronger, more sensitive" etc, etc.

So who is getting rid of their cheap off-shore junk and replacing it with "The One"? It's hard to keep up with these fly rod manufacturers. VXP, I hardly knew ya. In all seriousness if you've been dying to get a hold of a Zed Axis you can now find them discounted.

I like Sage and I have a couple of their rods but I won't ever pay full price for one. all of these new rods just seem too "fast" for me. I know that its personal preference but I just like to feel the rod load a little more. The only exception is a stick for bigger species like steelhead. I don't mind those a little faster.

The good thing about these companies coming out with new rods every 6 months is there should be a good bit of discounted stock out there.

It could be a factory rod or built by the fly shop owner. It didn't say. He's built 3 rods for me and several for jdaddy. We can vouch that they do some nice work. I think I had paid 545 for the z-axis he built for me. $200 off has me thinking of grabbing another.

Discounted so low for a custom (which range between 520-560.00 before) makes sense. The custom rod builders out there who have a few in inventory can't be happy.

I've often toyed with the idea of buying a custom rod. The uncertainty of repairs made me hesitate. I almost pulled the trigger on a custom Z about a year ago. I liked the idea that I could select larger guides.

Wayne at Anglers Habitat in Idaho is the man. I got a TCX built, fished it for 3 months, told him it wasn't practical for where I fished. I sent the rod back and he gave me a 100% refund in shop credit! How can you beat that? He moves a ton of stuff on ebay.